Method and system for conducting transactions with oligopolistic entities

ABSTRACT

A method for conducting a business transaction using a payment processing network is disclosed. The method includes sending an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer, where the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity. The issuer sends an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved. Economic incentives associated with the business transaction are provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer. A method for encouraging use of electronic payment methods is also disclosed, wherein an oligopolistic entity and a group of business consumers in an industry vertical are identified based on sales information, and an economic incentive is provided to the oligopolistic business entity after it agrees to accept electronic payment transactions for conducting business with the group of business consumers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/754,378, filed Dec. 27, 2005, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While the acceptance of electronic payment transactions, such as creditcard, debit card, and electronic settlement transactions, has becomenearly universal by businesses that sell goods and services toindividual consumers, electronic payment transactions are not yetuniversally accepted by many businesses that mainly supply goods andservices to business consumers, such as restaurants, gas stations, etc.In fact, most of the business transactions between suppliers andbusiness consumers remain invoice based, where the supplier issues aninvoice to the business consumer for goods provided or services renderedbased on a payment term (e.g., 30 days net) and the business consumerpays the invoice by check.

It is particularly noteworthy that most business consumers purchasetheir primary supplies (i.e., their primary stock in trade) throughinvoice based spending. Examples of primary supplies are gasoline for agas station owner, food products for a restaurant owner, or a stock ofCDs for a music store owner. These business transactions of primarysupplies between business consumers and suppliers are the source of atremendous amount of spending, because the average dollar amount foreach transaction may be orders of magnitude larger than the averagetransaction conducted by an individual consumer. Moreover, many of thebusiness consumers operate in business segments where only a few,concentrated suppliers provide a large portion of the primary suppliesfor business consumers in the segment. It follows that businessconsumers conversely spend a majority of their primary expenses (i.e.,expenses for primary supplies) at a small number of concentratedsuppliers operating in those business segments. These concentratedsuppliers within a business segment may be referred to as oligopolisticbusiness entities.

Thus far, many of the suppliers and business consumers have shunned theuse of electronic payment methods for various reasons. Reasons whybusiness consumers may still rely on the traditional paper-based checkpayments may include force of habit or perceived simplicity.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved systems andmethods that encourage oligopolistic business entities to acceptelectronic payment transactions and the business consumers to conductelectronic payment transactions with the oligopolistic businessentities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods and systems forconducting business transactions involving oligopolistic entities.

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for conducting abusiness transaction using a payment processing network. Anauthorization request message including an authorization request is sentto an issuer. The authorization request message originates from abusiness consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolisticbusiness entity. The oligopolistic business entity is associated withone or more acquirers. An authorization response message is receivedindicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved.An incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to theoligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conductingthe business transaction, whereby the incentive would not be availablein a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and thebusiness consumer.

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for conducting abusiness transaction using a payment processing network. Anauthorization request message is received. The authorization requestmessage originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or servicesfrom an oligopolistic business entity. The oligopolistic business entityis associated with one or more acquirers. An authorization responsemessage is sent indicating that the authorization request is approved ornot approved. An incentive associated with the business transaction isprovided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumerfor conducting the business transaction, whereby the incentive would notbe available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic businessentity and the business consumer.

Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a computer readablemedium that includes code for performing one of the foregoing methods ofconducting a business transaction using a payment processing network.Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a point of saleterminal including the computer readable medium. Another embodiment ofthe invention is directed to a server computer including the computerreadable medium.

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for identifyingoligopolistic business entities within a business segment andencouraging acceptance of electronic payment transactions by theoligopolistic business entities. Sales information on the businesssegment is received. An oligopolistic business entity and a group ofbusiness consumers within the business segment are identified based onthe sales information. An economic incentive is provided to theoligopolistic business entity after the oligopolistic business entityagrees to use electronic payment transactions for conducting businesswith the group of business consumers.

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a payment processingnetwork comprising a server computer comprising a computer readablemedium. The computer readable medium comprises code for communicating anauthorization request message including an authorization request to anissuer. The authorization request message originates from a businesstransaction in which a business consumer purchases goods or servicesfrom an oligopolistic business entity. The oligopolistic business entityis associated an acquirer. An authorization response message iscommunicated from the issuer to the acquirer indicating that theauthorization request is approved or not approved. An incentiveassociated with the business transaction is provided to theoligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conductingthe business transaction. The incentive would not be available in atransaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the businessconsumer.

One embodiment of the invention is directed to a system for conducting abusiness transaction using a payment processing network. The systemcomprises an oligopolistic business entity associated with an acquireroperatively coupled to the payment processing network and a businessconsumer associated with an issuer operatively coupled to the paymentprocessing network. The payment processing network comprises a servercomputer comprising a computer readable medium. The computer readablemedium comprises code for communicating an authorization request messageincluding an authorization request to the issuer. The authorizationrequest message originates from a business transaction in which thebusiness consumer purchases goods or services from the oligopolisticbusiness entity. An authorization response message is communicated fromthe issuer to the acquirer indicating that the authorization request isapproved or not approved. An incentive associated with the businesstransaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or thebusiness consumer for conducting the business transaction. The incentivewould not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolisticbusiness entity and the business consumer.

These and other embodiments of the invention are described in furtherdetail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the relationship between manufacturers,distributors including oligopolistic business entities, businessconsumers, and individual consumers.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system including an oligopolisticbusiness entity, an acquirer, a payment processing network, an issuer,and a business consumer.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a method according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating a method according to anembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to the use of electronicpayment transactions (e.g., credit card, debit card, electronicsettlement transactions) in commercial transactions betweenoligopolistic business entities and business consumers. In many businesssegments, such as the restaurant industry, the gas station industry, theretail industry, and various service industries, there exist verticalsupply chains for primary supplies or stock in trade. These verticalsupply chains are sometimes referred to as industry “verticals.” Forexample, the restaurant industry embraces a vertical supply chain forfood products, the gas station industry embraces a vertical supply chainfor gasoline, and the electronics retail industry embraces a verticalfor stock electronics equipment. Business consumers within industryverticals are supplied by vertical-specific suppliers that specialize inthe good or service of the industry vertical. For example, avertical-specific supplier provides gasoline to gas stations, but doesnot sell gasoline directly to the general public.

Many of the vertical supply chains are dominated by a few concentratedvertical-specific suppliers, which collectively dominate the industryvertical and may be referred to as oligopolistic business entities. Forexample, in the vertical supply chain for gasoline, a large percentageof the gasoline purchased by individual gas stations are sold by a fewbranded refineries, such as Conoco, Phillips, Texaco, BP, Chevron, etc.Therefore, oligopolistic business entities within a vertical supplychain may collectively account for a large percentage of the total salesto business consumers in the industry vertical and may be relatively fewin number. It follows therefore that business consumers within anindustry vertical dominated by a relatively few oligopolistic businessentities spend a large percentage of their vertical-specific (i.e.,primary supply related) expenses at just a few different suppliers.

It should be understood that industry verticals may also be limited bygeography or by organizational constraints. For example, the verticalsupply chain for concrete may be regional in nature. Therefore, theconcrete vertical in the state of California may be defined as adiscrete industry vertical having its own group of oligopolisticbusiness entities. Similarly, organizational constraints may alsoproduce a discrete industry vertical within an organization. Forexample, if McDonald's franchisees are limited to purchasing primarysupplies from a pre-authorized group of suppliers, the food productvertical within the McDonald's franchise may be defined as a discreteindustry vertical having its own group of oligopolistic businessentities.

In one approach, target industry verticals are first identified in whichbusiness consumers spend a majority of their primary supply budget at arelatively few number of suppliers. For example, industry verticals areidentified where a large percentage (e.g., over ½, over ⅔, over ¾, over90%) of the business consumers spend over ½of their primary supplybudget (i.e., vertical-specific expenses) at their top 10vertical-specific suppliers. Once a target industry vertical isidentified, oligopolistic business entities within the vertical may be agroup of top suppliers in the vertical (as measured by annual dollaramount in sales). For example, the group of top suppliers may be a groupof the top 10, five, or three suppliers in the vertical. Alternatively,the group of top suppliers may be a top percentile of suppliers in thevertical (e.g., top 20%, top 10%, top 5%). Other exemplary approachesfor defining the group of oligopolistic business entities are set forthbelow, which may be used in conjunction with the aforementioned methodof first identifying a target industry vertical, but may also be usedindependently thereof.

In another approach, oligopolistic business entities within a particularindustry vertical may be defined as a group of the top suppliers in thevertical (as measured by annual dollar amount in sales) thatcollectively account for over a threshold percentage of the sales tobusiness consumers in the vertical. In one example, the group of topsuppliers may account for over 80% of the sales in the vertical. Inanother example, the group of top suppliers may account for over ⅔of thesales in the vertical. In another example, the group of top suppliersmay account for over ½of the sales in the vertical. In another example,the group of top suppliers may account for over ⅓of the sales in thevertical. Therefore, a number of top suppliers make up the group ofoligopolistic business entities, which collectively account for over athreshold percentage of the sales to business consumers in the industryvertical.

In another approach, the group of oligopolistic business entities may bedefined as no more than a set number of top suppliers that collectivelyaccount for the aforementioned threshold percentage of sales in thevertical (e.g., over 80%, ⅔, ½, ⅓). For example, the group may includeno more than 10 top suppliers that collectively account for thethreshold percentage of sales. In another example, the group may includeno more than five top suppliers that collectively account for thethreshold percentage of sales. In another example, the group may includeno more than three top suppliers that collectively account for thethreshold percentage of sales.

In another approach, the group of oligopolistic business entities may bedefined as no more than a set percentage of top suppliers, as rounded tothe whole number, that collectively account for the aforementionedthreshold percentage of sales in the vertical. For example, the groupmay include the top 20% of the suppliers in the vertical thatcollectively account for the threshold percentage of sales, as roundedto the whole number. In another example, the group may include the top10% of suppliers in the vertical that collectively account for thethreshold percentage of sales. In another example, the group may includethe top 5% of suppliers in the vertical that collectively account forthe threshold percentage of sales.

In another approach, the group of oligopolistic business entities is notdetermined by reference to a threshold percentage of sales in thevertical, and is made up of the top suppliers in the vertical asmeasured by annual dollar amount in sales. For example, the group mayinclude the top ten, five, or three suppliers in the vertical, or thetop 20%, 10%, or 5% of suppliers in the vertical (as rounded to wholenumbers).

One illustrative example of a group of oligopolistic business entitieswithin a vertical supply chain is provided with reference to FIG. 1. Forthe sake of concreteness, the example will refer to a vertical supplychain for fast food products. In particular, vertical supply chain 100includes manufacturers 110, which in this instance may refer to variousagricultural corporations and industrial food producers that cooperateto mass produce fast food products, such as hamburger patties, hamburgerbuns, french fries, ketchup, soda, and cheese slices. Distributors 120are suppliers of food products to business consumers 130 in the industryvertical (e.g., fast food restaurants such as Burger King, KFC,McDonald's) and may include major food suppliers such as Sysco,Franchise Foods, McLane, Valley Food Service, Pepsi, U.S. Food Service,etc. Business consumers 130, which may be part of a franchise or tradeassociation, in turn offer their products (e.g., hamburgers, fries, andsodas) to the general public and conduct transactions with individualconsumers 140.

If, for example, Sysco and Franchise Foods are the top two suppliers inthe vertical as measured by annual sales and collectively (but notindividually) account for over 80% of the fast food products sold tofast food restaurants in the vertical, then by one definition, they arethe “Oligopolistic Business Entities” in the fast food vertical. Otherfast food suppliers would then fall under the label of “OtherDistributors,” who collectively vie for less than 20% of the marketshare in the vertical. Of course, it should be understood in view of theforegoing alternative definitions for the group of oligopolisticbusiness entities that there may be many different ways of defining thegroup oligopolistic business entities in any vertical supply chain.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system for processing electronic paymenttransactions in the context of transactions conducted between anoligopolistic business entity and a business consumer. The systemincludes a payment processing network 34 (e.g., VisaNet) that allowsvarious entities to communicate with each other. Payment processingnetwork 34 may include one or more server computers that includeprocessors and computer readable media for performing the functions ofthe network. A business consumer 38 may purchase goods or services froman oligopolistic entity 42 using a POS terminal 40. POS terminal 40 maybe any suitable terminal configured to process credit card or debit cardtransactions, or electronic settlement transactions, and may haveoptical, electrical, or magnetic readers for reading data from otherportable consumer devices such as smart cards, keychain devices, etc.Other examples of portable consumer devices include cellular phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, payment cards, securitycards, access cards, smart media, transponders, and the like. POSterminal 40 may include a processor and computer readable medium havingcode for instructing the processor to conduct the transaction. The POSterminal 40 could alternatively be a client computer terminal without areader for reading data from a portable consumer device such as apayment card. For example, the POS terminal 40 would be a clientcomputer terminal with a display. The business consumer 38 could fillout a form on the display to request authorization for the payment forgoods or services provided by the oligopolistic entity 42.

FIG. 2 also shows an acquirer 44 associated with the oligopolisticentity 42, and an issuer 48 associated with the business consumer 38.The acquirer 44 and the issuer 48 communicate via the payment processingnetwork 34 and are therefore operatively coupled to the paymentprocessing network 34. As used herein, an “acquirer” is typically abusiness entity, e.g., a commercial bank, that has a businessrelationship with an oligopolistic entity. An “issuer” is typically abusiness entity (e.g., a bank) which has a business relationship withthe business consumer and holds the financial accounts of the businessconsumer (e.g., holds a credit card account and issues a portableconsumer device such as a payment card to the business consumer). Someentities such as American Express perform both issuer and acquirerfunctions. Embodiments of the invention encompass such single entityissuer-acquirers. Additional details about various elements includingissuers, acquirers, portable consumer devices, etc. can be found in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/266,766, filed on Nov. 2, 2005, andapplication Ser. No. 10/020,466, filed on Oct. 29, 2001, which areincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Referring to FIG. 2, in embodiments of the invention, an authorizationrequest message is created after a business consumer 38 interacts withan oligopolistic entity 42 and enters into a business transaction topurchase goods or services using a point of sale terminal 40. Thebusiness consumer 38 preferably uses a portable consumer device such asa credit card, a debit card, a reloadable card, or a data-access card topay for the good or service. The authorization request message can besent from the POS terminal 40 located at the oligopolistic businessentity, or in communication with, the oligopolistic entity. Theauthorization request message is then sent to the oligopolistic entity'sacquirer 44, to the payment processing network 34, and then to thebusiness consumer's issuer 48.

As used herein, an “authorization request message” can include a requestfor authorization to conduct an electronic payment transaction. It mayinclude one or more of an account holder's payment account number,currency code, sale amount, merchant transaction stamp, acceptor city,acceptor state/country, etc. An authorization request message may beprotected using a secure encryption method, e.g., 128-bit SSL orequivalent-in order to prevent data from being compromised.

Typically, an electronic payment transaction is authorized if thebusiness consumer 38 conducting the transaction has sufficient funds orcredit to conduct the transaction. Conversely, if there are insufficientfunds or credit in the business consumer's account, or if the businessconsumer's portable consumer device is on a blacklist (e.g., it isindicated as stolen), then an electronic payment transaction may not beauthorized. Similarly, an “authorization response message” statingwhether the transaction has been authorized or not authorized is sent,for example, from the issuer to the payment processing network 34, tothe acquirer 44, to the oligopolistic business entity 42, and to the POSterminal 40.

If the transaction is approved, a conventional clearing and settlementprocess may then take place. For example, at the end of the day, theoligopolistic business entity 42 may provide a merchant deposit file tothe acquirer 44. The merchant deposit file contains informationregarding the current day's electronic transactions. The acquirer 44 maythen send an interchange file to the payment processing network 34 alongwith appropriate interchange codes. Different transactions may beprocessed for different interchange fees depending on the interchangecode. Appropriate interchange codes and transactions details are thenforwarded from the payment processing network 34 to the issuer 48. Theissuer 48 may then adjust the consumer's account as appropriate and sendpayment to the acquirer 44.

In a usual transaction, for example, between a business consumer and anon-oligopolistic business entity, a usual interchange fee is used tocompensate the issuing bank 48 for the transaction. An “interchange fee”is a fee that is paid by an acquirer to an issuer for transactions thatare processed. An “interchange” process is the standardized electronicexchange of financial and non-financial data associated with sale andcredit data between merchant acquirers and account issuers. Theinterchange process typically occurs at the end of the day, after allfinancial transactions for that day have been completed. It is part ofthe clearing and settlement part of the payment process, as opposed tothe authorization part of the payment process. Interchange processes aredescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/266,766, filed on Nov.2, 2005, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Due to the shear volume of business conducted between oligopolisticbusiness entities and business consumers, economic incentives may beoffered to induce oligopolistic business entities to accept electronicpayment transactions for their sales and for business consumers to useelectronic payment transactions for their purchases.

In one approach, when an oligopolistic business entity acceptselectronic payment transactions for their transactions with businessconsumers, it is possible to provide for a transaction fee that isdifferent than the usual interchange fee for transactions occurringbetween, for example, an individual consumer and a merchant or abusiness consumer and a non-oligopolistic business entity. If, forexample, a usual interchange fee for an individual consumer purchase is4% of the amount purchased, the transaction fee (also referred to as thepreferred interchange fee) may be less than 4% for a transaction betweena business consumer and an oligopolistic business entity since thetransaction is generally for a larger amount. The preferred interchangefee may be one that is pre-negotiated between the business consumer 38(and/or its affiliated organization), the oligopolistic entity 42, andan entity (e.g., Visa) that operates the payment processing network 34.Other economic incentives, such as co-promotion of products andservices, assistance in new customer acquisition, fraud loss mitigationand credit underwriting, may also be offered instead of or inconjunction with the preferred interchange fee. Thus, by giving aneconomic incentive (e.g., in the form of a preferred interchange fee) toan oligopolistic business entity for accepting electronic paymenttransactions, it is more likely that the oligopolistic business entitywill accept electronic payment transactions.

In another approach, when a business consumers uses an electronicpayment transaction with an oligopolistic business entity, an economicincentive may be offered to the business consumer that is not otherwiseavailable. For example, if a business consumer conducts a credit cardtransaction with a non-oligopolistic business entity (e.g., an Italianrestaurant), no economic incentive is available. However, if a businessconsumer conducts a credit card transaction with an oligopolisticbusiness entity that supplies gasoline, an economic incentive isoffered. Exemplary incentives may be a percentage cash back on thetransaction with the oligopolistic business entity, or some other rewardor rebate program that only rewards transactions with oligopolisticbusiness entities (e.g., as identified by the account issuer). Othereconomic incentives, such as co-promotion of products and services,assistance in new customer acquisition, fraud loss mitigation and creditunderwriting, may also be offered. Thus, by giving an economic incentiveto a business consumer for using electronic payment transactions witholigopolistic business entities, it is more likely that the businessconsumer will use electronic business transactions to purchase itsprimary supplies from oligopolistic business entities. Of course, itshould be understood that economic incentives may be offered to both theoligopolistic business entity and the business consumer in a transactionto encourage use of electronic payment methods.

In another approach, the use of electronic payment methods (e.g.,payment card, portable consumer device, and electronic settlementtransactions) can be introduced to a group of business consumers throughan organization, such as a franchise or business association, associatedwith the group of business consumers. For example, the use of electronicpayment methods may be introduced to franchisees (McDonald'sfranchisees) through a business franchisor (e.g., McDonald's corporateheadquarters).

In particular, many franchises or business associations have lists ofapproved suppliers for their franchisees. In one approach, oligopolisticbusiness entities from the list of approved suppliers can be contactedand offered economic incentives when accepting electronic paymenttransactions. Once the oligopolistic business entities have agreed toaccept electronic payment transactions, the franchise or businessassociation may be approached and informed that major suppliers fromtheir list of approved suppliers have agreed to accept electronicpayment transactions. Financial accounts, such as payment card basedaccounts, may then be offered to the franchise or association membersthat are accepted by the oligopolistic business entities for electronicpayment. Economic incentives may also be offered for using the financialaccounts in electronic payment transactions conducted with theaforementioned oligopolistic business entities. The financial accountsmay also be co-branded by the franchise or business association topromote its use. For example, a Visa card issued by Bank of America maybe co-branded by McDonald's for use by all of its franchisees in makingpurchases from authorized suppliers.

This method is particularly effective as only a small number ofoligopolistic business entities and a small number of franchises orbusiness associations in a given business segment need to be contactedto convince them to use electronic payment methods for their businesstransactions. Because the number of potential parties to be contacted issmall, it is practicable to offer economic incentives in transactionsinvolving this small number of potential parties so as to capture alarge percentage of the economic activity in the vertical supply chain.And although there is a small number of potential parties, this smallnumber of potential parties can generate a high volume of sales and canmake an existing payment card processing system such as VisaNet usefuland efficient.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart according to an embodiment of the invention.For example, the embodiment may be practiced by a POS terminal (e.g.,terminal 40 of FIG. 2) or other client computer device, which may besituated at the location of the oligopolistic business entity. Theflowchart illustrates a method including sending an authorizationrequest message (step 12) for a business transaction, receiving theauthorization response message (step 14), and if the response messageindicates that the transaction is approved, performing an interchangeprocess (step 16). In the interchange process, the issuing bank is paida fee for facilitating the purchase transaction. The interchange processmay be performed as part of a clearing and settlement process.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart according to another embodiment of theinvention. For example, the embodiment may be practiced by a servercomputer situated at an issuer. The flowchart illustrates a methodincluding receiving an authorization request message (step 22) for abusiness transaction. The authorization request message is processed todetermine if the request is approved or not approved (step 24). Anauthorization response message is then sent stating that the request isapproved or not approved (step 26).

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart according to another embodiment of theinvention in which oligopolistic business entities and a group ofbusiness consumers within an industry vertical are identified andencouraged to use electronic payment methods. Sales information on theindustry vertical is received (step 232). An oligopolistic businessentity and a group of business consumers within the industry verticalare identified based on the sales information (step 234). An economicincentive is provided to the oligopolistic business entity after theoligopolistic business entity agrees to accept electronic paymenttransactions for conducting business with the group of businessconsumers (step 236). Payment card based financial accounts are offeredto the group of business consumers, wherein the group of businessconsumers is informed that the oligopolistic business entity has agreedto accept the payment card based financial accounts for payment (step238). An economic incentive is provided to the group of businessconsumers for conducting electronic payment transactions with theoligopolistic business entity, wherein the incentive would not beavailable in a transaction between the business consumer and anon-oligopolistic business entity (step 240).

The software components or functions described in this application, maybe implemented as software code to be executed by a processor using anysuitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++ or Perlusing, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. Thesoftware code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands ona computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a readonly memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppydisk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer readablemedium may reside on or within a single computational apparatus, and maybe present on or within different computational apparatuses within asystem or network.

As used herein, a “server computer” or “host computer” may be embodiedby one or more computational apparatuses, which can service the requestsof one or more client computers. Typically, a server computer or hostcomputer is a powerful computer or cluster of computers that behave as asingle computer. For example, the server computer can be a mainframecomputer, a minicomputer, or a minicomputer cluster. In another example,the server computer may include one or more database servers and one ormore Web servers. The server computer may service the requests of one ormore client computers, and may comprise a computer readable medium.

The present invention can be implemented in the form of control logic insoftware or hardware or a combination of both. The control logic may bestored in an information storage medium as a plurality of instructionsadapted to direct an information processing device to perform a set ofsteps disclosed in embodiment of the present invention. Based on thedisclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thepresent invention.

The above description is illustrative but not restrictive. Manyvariations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should,therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description,but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claimsalong with their full scope or equivalents.

A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more”unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

All patents, patent applications, publications, and descriptionsmentioned above are herein incorporated by reference in their entiretyfor all purposes. None is admitted to be prior art.

1. A method for conducting a business transaction using a payment processing network, the method comprising: sending an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer via the payment processing network, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and receiving an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved; wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided via the payment processing network to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the issuer and the one or more acquirers are embodied by the same entity.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is one of a plurality of top suppliers in an industry vertical as measured by sales, and wherein the plurality of top suppliers collectively sell more than a threshold percentage of the total goods or services purchased by business consumers in the industry vertical.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of top suppliers comprises no more than five top suppliers, and wherein the threshold percentage comprises 80%.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the industry vertical comprises a vertical supply chain supplying a particular good or service.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the incentive comprises a transaction fee that is lower than a usual interchange fee paid by the non-oligopolistic business entity.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the business consumer is a member of a franchise or trade association, and wherein the oligopolistic business entity is authorized by the franchise or trade association to supply goods or services to members of the franchise or trade association.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the business transaction comprises a payment card transaction.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the business transaction comprises an electronic settlement transaction.
 10. A computer readable medium comprising software code executable by a processor, the software code comprising: code for sending an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and code for receiving an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved; wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 11. A point of sale terminal comprising: a processor and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer readable medium comprising software code executable by the processor, the software code comprising code for sending an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers, and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers, and code for receiving an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved, wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 12. A method for identifying oligopolistic business entities within an industry vertical and encouraging acceptance of electronic payment transactions by the oligopolistic business entities, the method comprising: receiving sales information on the business segment; identifying an oligopolistic business entity and a group of business consumers within the industry vertical based on the sales information wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and providing an economic incentive to the oligopolistic business entity via the payment processing network after the oligopolistic business entity agrees to accept electronic payment transactions for conducting business with the group of business consumers, the payment transactions being conducted using a payment processing network.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: offering financial accounts to the group of business consumers, wherein the group of business consumers are informed that the oligopolistic business entity has agreed to accept electronic payment transactions from the financial accounts.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: providing an economic incentive to the group of business consumers for conducting electronic payment transactions with the oligopolistic business entity, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between the business consumer and a non-oligopolistic business entity.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the economic incentive comprises a transaction fee that is less than a usual interchange fee paid by non-oligopolistic business entities.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is one of a plurality of top suppliers in the industry vertical as measured by sales, wherein the plurality of top suppliers collectively sell more than a threshold percentage of the total goods or services purchased by business consumers in the industry vertical.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of top suppliers comprises no more than five top suppliers, and wherein the threshold percentage comprises eighty percent.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the industry vertical comprises a vertical supply chain supplying a particular good or service.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the group of business consumers is a franchise or trade association.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is authorized by the franchise or trade association to supply goods or services to members of the franchise or trade association.
 21. The method of claim 13, wherein the financial accounts are co-branded by a franchise or trade association.
 22. A method for conducting a business transaction using a payment processing network, the method comprising: receiving an authorization request message via the payment processing network, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and sending an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved, wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein the incentive is a reduced fee to be paid by the oligopolistic business entity for conducting the business transaction.
 24. The method of claim 22 wherein the business transaction is conducted using a portable consumer device associated with the oligopolistic entity.
 25. A computer readable medium comprising software code executable by a processor, the software code comprising: code for receiving an authorization request message, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers, and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and code for sending an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved, wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 26. A server computer comprising: a processor, and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer readable medium comprising software code executable by the processor, the software code comprising code for receiving an authorization request message, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business consumer purchasing goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with one or more acquirers, and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and code for sending an authorization response message indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved, wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 27. A payment processing network comprising a server computer comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium comprising code executable by a processor, the software code comprising: code for communicating an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business transaction in which a business consumer purchases goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated an acquirer and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and code for communicating an authorization response message from the issuer to the acquirer indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved; wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 28. A system comprising: a payment processing network comprising a server computer comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium comprising code for: communicating an authorization request message including an authorization request to an issuer associated with a business consumer, wherein the authorization request message originates from a business transaction in which the business consumer purchases goods or services from an oligopolistic business entity, wherein the oligopolistic business entity is associated with an acquirer, and wherein the oligopolistic business entity operates within a target industry vertical, wherein over a majority of the business consumers within the target industry vertical spend over 50% of a vertical-specific budget at fewer than ten vertical-specific suppliers; and communicating an authorization response message from the issuer to the acquirer indicating that the authorization request is approved or not approved; wherein an incentive associated with the business transaction is provided to the oligopolistic business entity or the business consumer for conducting the business transaction, wherein the incentive would not be available in a transaction between a non-oligopolistic business entity and the business consumer.
 29. The method of claim 2 wherein the incentive is an interchange fee that is lower than that which is charged to an individual consumer.
 30. The method of claim 12 wherein the business segment includes a restaurant industry, a gas station industry, and an electronics retail industry. 